All Signs Point to You Part Two by Navaura Campbell (uplifting books for women .TXT) 📖

breath and then let it loose. Grabbing Denise's hands he spoke in a firm tone. “If something like this ever happen again, Denise, you tell me. Please, tell me because I swear if....” His voice broke. He couldn't even begin to think about her sleeping with someone else.

“Don't worry, I don't plan on letting something like this happen again.” She stated, her tone sounding tired. Jordan glanced down at her and ran his hands through her hair, “Good because honestly, I won't be held responsible for what I might do if I ever caught you with another guy.” Denise felt her body shiver at his words. There was so much passion in them. She had no doubt he meant that from his heart. Inhaling sharply, she stated, “I got into NYU.”

Jordan felt his body stiffen at those words. NYU?

“I got my acceptance letter today.” Her tone was quiet.

Jordan knew he should have been happy, but after what just happened with Chuck all he could think about was some other guy trying to manipulate her through the use of charms and he knew with New York being a good nine hours away from where they were there was no way he could drive up there at the drop of a hat.

“Denise. I can't protect you up there.” He stated.

“I know baby.” The rest was left dangling in the air until he cleared his throat and spoke. "I want you to stay with me. I need you here with me."

Denise put a hand over his heart and glanced down at the ground. “I would love to Jordan, but the thing is, I've always dreamed of going to the University of New York. It's been my school of choice since I was in middle school.”

Jordan nodded his head, trying to hold back the immediate feelings of despair as it gripped his heart. “I know, you told me, but we can't be apart, not right now. It's not a good time.”

Denise exhaled, “Jordan...I can come on the weekends to see you.”

“No. That's too much driving.” His tone held a bit of fire in it. Denise already could sense where this was headed. “Baby, I know you don't like the idea of me being that far way but...”

“No.” He shook his head no and pulled away from her. He gathered a shaky breath and stood up, beginning to pace back and forth between the entry to the living room and where she sat on the couch. She couldn't leave come fall. There was no way he'd be able to make it through the upcoming days without her. Especially since he couldn't face the reality that one day his mother was going to go. If that day did come, he wanted her with him. He needed her there.

“Jordan, I know what you're thinking, but I have always had my heart set on going to NYU. You know that.”

He nodded, almost at his breaking point. “I know Denise, but I don't want to do this without you with me.” Denise stood up and began twisting her fingers in her hand. “I'll be back Jordan. It's not like I'm going up there to live for the rest of my life.”

Jordan glanced over at her and stopped his pacing, “Four years Denise. Four years is a long time to see you just on the weekends and even if I could come to terms with that, I still need you to be here because what if my mom get better? I would want you here to see that. ” Denise dropped her head, clearing her throat. In an ever so quiet tone, she whispered, “What if she doesn't? What if...she passes away?”

Jordan stilled at those words. He couldn't begin to fathom that. He didn't want to believe that his mother would pass away. Somewhere in the corners of his mind, he'd convinced himself that she was going to beat this cancer and there was no other option but success.

“She's not going to die Denise.”

Denise exhaled, feeling a new type of dread fill her. She felt as if it was her responsibility to make him see the inevitable. Some may see it as harsh, but she was doing it because of the simple fact that she loved him and there was nothing else he could say or do to change the fact that his mother may not have a long time to live. "She's going to pass away Jordan."

Jordan shook his head, "No, she'll make it out of this one."

Denise looked up into his deep, penetrating gaze. Shaking her head, “She said no. Jordan she's going to die. The doctors said her condition is terminal.”

Jordan felt as if the life had been knocked out of him just with those words she'd spoken. He dropped to his knees. “Denise, please don't.” She went down on her knees just so she could face him. “Jordan, baby, I know it's hard to come to terms with this, but your mother is going to pass away and...”

“And you will be away at NYU when that happens.” It was as if a light bulb clicked on for him. When his mother passed away, Denise was going to be no where around. He was going to be by himself. He pushed her away from him. “Why have I been so worried about you when you had already decided the moment you got here that you were leaving. I mean from the beginning you really didn't like being in a small town anyway, Denise.”

Denise exhaled, “Jordan, I may have hated it here when I first came, but I've come to love....”

He adamantly nodded his head, “No, you haven't. You know, from the beginning this was all about you. You hated it here, you didn't want to be here, you missed New York.” He put his hand up to his face, attempting to visually cover the pain that seemed to engulf his heart.

Denise said, “I may have started out like that, but honestly Jordan, I love you and I wouldn't trade the two years that we've been together for nothing in this world.”

He stood up. “But you have to go. I guess that's what Andrew was trying to tell me but I couldn't see the big picture.”

Denise got up and grabbed his arm, “I don't think that's fair Jordan, not fair at all.” He looked at her, his eyes full of pain. “You don't think it's fair that I ask you to stay with me because I love you and I want you to be with me? You don't think it's fair that I ask you to be by my side if my mother does pass away? You don't think it's fair that you can get a degree from anywhere, and that NYU isn't the only college that gives out History degrees? You don't think that's fair at all? But you think it's fair to leave when I need you here with me? You don't think it's fair that I want to go through this with you by my side? What else don't you think is fair Denise?” His voice had lost all of it's mildness and became hard. Denise stood there, not really sure she wanted to answer his questions because she didn't think the answers would come out right. He stared at her, his eyes becoming hard pools of green lava. “I have done nothing but try to make you love me.”

“I do love you.” She stated, her tone getting stronger. She could feel his anxiety and anger beginning to build until his voice boomed, "If you love me Denise, how can you leave me? Tell me, How can you leave when I need you the most?"

Denise stood there, just watching the layers of pain that flashed through his eyes, each one getting worse as he spoke of his feelings. “The one thing I find not fair Denise, is when you tell me you love me and that you need me I'm there but the minute I want you to do the same for me, I'm told no. That's always been the problem with you. You have always wanted me to bend over backwards to please you, to do as you want without you doing the same for me. This relationship has always been one sided.”

Denise shook her head no, “Jordan, I love you just as much as you love me, but, I don't want to sit in this town when I can be accomplishing all the goals I have set out.”

Jordan shook his head, finally getting it. “Alright Denise, you know what. Go ahead. Go off and accomplish all your goals, go off and do whatever the hell it is that girls like you do. Just fucking go do it and leave me the hell alone.” With that, he turned and walked out of her house, his anger so full that he wished that Chuck had stayed out there just so he could beat that damn abominable grin off his face. At-least then he'd feel a little bit better.

Chapter Fifty:

Victoria spoke to Jordan on his way exiting her house. Instead of speaking back, he gave her the coldest glare she'd ever laid eyes on. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she opened the door and walked in. Without it being said, she knew that the source of his anger was in there bawling her eyes out. Victoria closed her eyes and exhaled, She prayed to God that if she ever fell in love with a guy that her relationship would go a hell of a lot smoother than Denise's. God. She actually felt bad for her sister. Closing the door behind her, she walked into the living room to find her sitting on the couch rubbing her temples, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Hi Denise.” She spoke.

Denise exhaled, “I'm not in the mood for bull shitting today Vicki. I just am not in a laughing mood.”

“So I see. Jordan didn't look like he was any happier than you are.”

“Nope, he's probably worse off than I am.”

“Why's that?” Vicki sat down next to her on the couch.

“I guess it's because he found out about what's been going on between me and Chuck and then not only that, but he's pissed because I got an acceptance letter from NYU and probably won't be here come fall.”

Victoria's brow wrinkled in interest, “What happened between you and Chuck? I thought he was just a friend?”

Denise's shoulders shrug, “Well, he decided that he wanted to be more than friends, so he turned up the charm a bit.”

“Well, you love Jordan. There's no way you'd mess with Chuck. If there is one thing I know about you Denise it's that you have this innate ability to control your emotions and your feels and how you respond to people.”

Denise smiled tenderly, finding her sister's words theoretic now that she knew that self control had nothing on a handsome face and seemingly charming guy. “That was the old me, Vicki. The new me is so damn open it's not funny. I mean, you'd think when your heart opens to one guy that you wouldn't be susceptible to another guy's charm. Well, Chuck was so good at what he was doing that I came very very close to messing up everything I had with Jordan.”

Victoria's eyes widened. “Seriously?”

Denise nodded her expression grim, “Seriously. Sometimes Vicki it doesn't feel like high school. When I was younger I couldn't wait to get in high school you know because after watching saved by the bell, I had the mistake of thinking high school to be like one of those never ending fun rides you know. I thought you didn't have a care in the world and life was just going to float by on practical jokes and stupid shit that teenagers did, but I guess high school has changed into one giant social drama club. There is stuff they don't talk about in movies and books and all of that about high school you know. They got the sexual issues covered galore, you know, making it seem like every body is sleeping with every body and they got the bitch cliques down pack, hell, they even got the different varieties down pack but what they don't talk about often enough is what the hell do you do when you fall for a guy who's beating the shit out of you because he feel like he has the right to do that. They don't tell you about the friendships that blossom into love. They don't tell you about the guys that come along in an attempt to seduce a girl away from her boyfriend for the sole purpose of humiliating the boyfriend.

They don't tell you about the headaches associated with trying to just maintain relationships period. They just make it seem like high school is one big fucking party, when in reality, in high school, your worse dreams can become reality and your emotions are going crazy, sky rocketing all